SolarWorld powers group purchasing programs

SolarWorld is expanding its Hillsboro factory.

Solar manufacturer SolarWorld says it expects to provide 1 megawatt of solar panels in 2010 through neighborhood-based volume pricing programs in Oregon.

Most of those 425 residential solar installations—about 800 MW worth—will be in Portland, through a program called Solarize Portland. Led by Portland-area neighborhood organizations, Solarize Portland pulls residents together to get volume pricing for purchasing and installation of residential solar systems.  When combined with state tax credits and incentives, group purchasing can bring the price of solar down by 90 percent, according to the organization.

SolarWorld, which is headquartered in Germany but has two U.S. manufacturing facilities on the West Coast, is in the process of a 350 MW expansion of its Hillsboro factory, to reach an expected production capacity of 500 MW per year by 2011. Overall, the company increased shipments by more than 20 percent in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same period last year, with revenues increasing by 28 percent. SolarWorld reported revenues of more than $1.2 billion for 2009.